Dunjohn

Well, it's not a store, but when I was in Krakow in Poland last July, I saw this set at a big weekend flea market, in a sealed but battered box. I didn't get it because it had no pieces I was interested in. Hmm. Going by the bricklink values, maybe I should've. It was only a couple of zloty. Brickset doesn't have an image of the 711 jeep, so here's the bricklink page: http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=7248 If anyone's in Krakow, it's probably still there. Oldest sets I found in actual stores were probably the Harry Potters and Extreme Islands I saw in Rome last month. Didn't buy them. Bought Exo-Force.

Fifteen Euro for a large grey baseplate? Ouch. I thought ten was expensive three weeks ago. Maybe I should stock up.... I'd seen pictures before, but this is the fist time I've noticed that the new Power Miners mech comes with a blue drill. Looking unlikely that I'll ever get an orange one. Those are rare parts; despite the theme, I think only two PM sets have drill bits. Overall, that Power Miners page is a mess. The dark lava background makes it hard to see anything. None of the 2010 sets have appeared in my area yet.

Just watched it. That was fantastic! I hadn't seen the Meccano, Plasticine or Scalextric episodes - didn't know about them, since I don't normally watch tv - but they looked cool too. The house was fantastic. Pity it looks doomed. Probably murder to clean, though, with studs everywhere....

Yeah, the new shark head is definitely better than the old one, it's just a shame it has that huge blue tattoo. Really limits what you can do with it. Like you, I'm not that excited about Atlantis either, but I could easily see myself getting this set if it's ten Euro. You get a fig from each faction, a Ring, some red curved bits I don't have very many of, and one of those big grey engine things I think are neat. Nice review; you may have convinced me to get a set from this line after all! Incidently, you seem to have one of the red propeller casings on backwards. Can't tell which one, though

Is there a story in between these two...? I may as well continue with a few other bits about myself: - I'm greying a bit despite my age, on the sides of my head like Mr. Fantastic. I think it looks rather good. - In school, I always wanted to be a journalist. I picked my university subjects on that basis, but half-way through, I realised that I preferred creative writing over factual, so I haven't really used my degree much. I've co-written one novel and contributed to a short-story anthology so far, but nothing for the last couple of years. Focussing on languages these days. - I'm fascinated by Soviet movie advertisements, particularly sci-fi. I like any classic pulp sci-fi imagery. - My friends all preferred the Transformers, but my childhood heroes were the Real Ghostbusters. - I despise umbrellas. - I despise superhero comic books. I only know what Mr. Fantastic looks like because my brother is a huge fan. I do like the Joker, though. - When I was about six years old, I tried to make milk by combining flour and water. It tasted horrible, and I lost my voice for about a minute. - I've never broken a bone or had to visit a hospital (other than to see other people). - My favourite starship captain is Sisko. He punched Q. Picard never punched Q. He would have punched Wesley Crusher. - I drove a forklift for a couple of years before I got my driver's licence. A forklift is technically a piece of heavy machinery rather than a vehicle, and I was a machine operator, so I didn't need one. Couldn't go on the roads, though. - People are always asking if they'd seen me somewhere recently. Apparently, a lot of people look like me. - "Dunjohn Keeper" is what I called my save files in the old PC game Dungeon Keeper. It stuck, and I've always used it as my internet name. - My favourite Lego colour is trans neon yellow. - I used to be able to realize when I was asleep and dreaming, and take control of the dream. Don't seem to be able to anymore.

I wonder why they bothered. It's so similar to trans neon yellow that I can't see it making a huge impact on any Atlantis set, if they'd just used the existing colour. I thought those green bits were trans neon yellow, early on in the rumour season. Still, I suppose more variety in colour can't be a bad thing. Excellent review, and very good review style, too. This isn't a set I'm that interested in - Atlantis overall doesn't really do it for me - but I certainly enjoyed getting a close look!

I've a tremendous collector instinct, I can't remember a time when I wasn't collecting something. I've tried to cut back in recent months, though, for expense/space reasons. So, right now, aside from Lego: Magic: the Gathering. Not just the cards, but stuff like the novels and comics and art prints. ...hmm. It seems that I've cut back on everything else, because I can't think of any other collections I'm actively pursuing anymore. There is a bitpart magazine I get where you build a tellurion (earth/moon/sun model) but I've kind-of lost interest in that and am only seeing out the series so that I'll have all the parts, if I ever get around to building it. Still, the Lego and the Magic are more than enough to dominate my funds, space and time, and I plan to drastically rein in the Magic in the new year. I like retro gaming too and pick up any old machines and games I come across at decent prices, but can't really call myself a collector. Some old collections: Pokemon cards, Pokemon figures, Star Wars Micro Machines, Star Trek Micro Machines, stamps, coins, charity pins, Gods of Ancient Egypt magazines, Marvel Heroes Reborn comics... it goes on.

Disney did it? Not Lego? Guess we weren't supposed to know there's a trash compactor scene.... ...except that we've had the set names for months now....

Wow! Cannons! Every neighbourhood should have those! And landspeeders! Sith-infested construction sites! Heavy machinery on the footpaths! I love this!

Well, the upshot of all this is, more Jesse figs on Bricklink. I'd love to have one but she's in all big, expensive sets I won't be able to afford.... I don't mind this set's layout because I see it as a set of tools to create a bigger scene. They could have just done the sherriff's office and added some anonymous buildings either side, but where's the fun in that? They may look odd together, but this set does have the three most important buildings in Woody's town and I much prefer to get those.

Hmm, let's see. John. Irish. Late twenties. The most recent line I can remember liking before my Dark Age began was Ice Planet, or maybe Pirates 2. I always loved the look of Model Team sets but they were way too expensive back then, and when my Dark Age ended, they'd been discontinued :( My favourite line as a kid was Blacktron 2. My Dark Age ended around August/September last year ('08). I finished work at half five, Friday Night Magic didn't start until half six, I was wandering around a toy shop and saw a small Lego fireman's car for four Euro. I figured that would burn a few minutes. Cut forward to December '09, and I'm now making this post. Currently learning Polish. That should hopefully explain the sig. Y and Z are switched around, the symbol keys between the letters and the Enter key now make śtrąńgę łęttęrś instead of symbols, and the remaining symbol keys are all randomized. I love languages. I also speak a little German, French, Irish, and Irish Sign Language. Because we moved around a lot when I was a kid, my Irish-language dialect is a mix of regional variations that probably drove more than one teacher to drink. Currently I work in a bank, but in the new year I'll be leaving to study to teach English abroad. Ideally, w Polsce. My primary Street Fighter character is Dan Hibiki. That should tell you absolutely everything about my gaming tastes. I consider myself a retro gamer with a particular fanaticism for Sonic the Hedgehog games. Vegetarian. Teetotal. Non-smoker. Occasional oxygen-breather. I have a huge Magic: the Gathering collection, but only one piece of Power Nine, a Beta Sapphire. I was determined to get a second P9 at Worlds this year, but simply could not hand over €400+ for a single card, so I settled for a Library of Alexandria. I'm a collector as well as a player, and have most sets completed. My favourite movie of all time is Jurassic Park. My favourite band is the Manic Street Preachers. I have no favourite book, but I'm currently being blown away by the Arthur C. Clark anthology, "The Other Side of the Sky." I watch pretty much no television. This confuses my co-workers greatly. I am, in turn, greatly confused by how they manage to watch everything that they do, yet still have lives. I can read something from any angle, upside down, flipped, disguised, whatever, just as comfortably as if it was lined up straight in front of me. I was surprised when people said they were amazed at this, but apparently it's weird. I think my mind is naturally wired to recognize patterns quickly. That's my super power. Also, I can usually tell if someone is French or not. I prefer cold to heat. I don't like sun holidays. Every trip to Spanish or Portugeuse holiday resorts with my family would be spent desperately searching for some culture to study, and trying to look as little like a tourist as possible. I have a pet Budgie, Bismarck, named after the turn-of-the-19th-century Iron Chancellor of Germany who believed in union through force. There used also be a canary, whom my sister named Chirpy.

You're right, those arms look far too clunky, kinda reminds me of Trogdor the Burninator, but the rest of the ship is very nice. This theme always confused me, with those far-out skeletons that, for some reason, needed breathing equipment. I think it's cute, how the two guys are skewered in the back. Very efficient. Yeah, despite the arms, I kinda wish I had this set. Thanks for the look!

I also doubt you're getting track with that train. I don't own any train sets, do the wheels look compatible to anyone? Would compatible wheels be okay for a push-toy? I'd imagine that most kids this line is aimed at wouldn't be into Lego trains. As for Lotso's truck, are prelim boxes digital mockups or photographs? I'm not sure the box in that image is wide enough to hold the dump, if it's a single piece. Either way, the image isn't clear enough to make out exactly how the truck is constructed, but we can see that the cab elements all look regular enough, and I actually love how <insert that tiresome argument> the truck is. They did a good job, making it look like something you'd find on that kindergarten floor. Edit: Woohoo, top again!

I'm not listening to anything right now, but I am humming some level music from the old Megadrive game Dynamite Headdy. I have no idea why: I haven't played it for ages!

Blacktron is the line I remeber most fondly from my kiddie days and these are perfect! Especially the second one (the first one needs more trans-neon yellow - and a bubble shield! Those dudes don't feel comfortable without one!). Special kudos for retaining the early-nineties, stud-ridden, greeble-free look on both.

Good spot, yeah that looks like him. And on closer inspection, he's standing on a grey tile jutting out from under the truck. He must be important in the movie. Edit: Hey, new page. I'll quote Christian's post to make things easier on everybody.

I just happen to have a big bag of ball joints beside me. Yeah, these are definitely different, I hadn't spotted that. Regular ball joints taper in towards the tips, these are level all the way out. However, the existing style tapers because otherwise, the plastic would be too rigid to let the ball in and out. The inside of the ball joint doesn't look any different, so I hope this isn't why the plastic is less sturdy.

And a Rex fig! The pink bear is Lotso. I didn't know he is a bad guy. The image isn't clear, but does Woody have a different expression in the Trash Compactor set? Also, what's the brown smudge on the side of Lotso's truck? It almost looks like a weird, headless minifig with one arm extended, but that makes no sense.

Fascinating to see where everybody's priorities lie, by the lines they concentrate on. Here's me. I'll separate them by line, too: x4 x10 x6 x8 (2nd one) Hmm, that's actually a lot. I'll be cutting back this year. If it weren't for the free Daily Mirror promos and the little City sets I bought while on holiday in summer, it'd be obvious which themes I like most. The ancient UFO set, I bought in Krakow during the summer 'cuz it looked awesome. The Space Police set was got in Rome last month. Space Police doesn't seem to be for sale in Ireland, which is ok, since I wasn't too impressed by this set. There was also a Star Wars line of promos for the Mirror earlier in the year, but if I have to copy and paste one more link, I'll scream.

One of the things I really like about Power Miners is the cheeky little bits of home comfort they've snuck down there with them, like the banana in the Titanium Command Rig and the coffee maker in the Rock Wrecker. And the drinks machine in the new base. Lovely attention to detail.

Wow, I got the stuff today, that was fast! Zero fuss too, I just filled out the form, got an automated email, then it arrived today. Dead pleased. They threw in a couple of spare bits, too: Some trans-red round studs, a solid white one, and, uh, a pair of Stormtrooper helmets. Yeah. I only own one Stormtrooper minifig, that came free with the Daily Mirror a few months back. Now he has three helmets to choose from.

I'll admit that I got a couple of the smaller Bionicle sets; I don't have much use for the "skin" elements but the "bone" parts - those combination technic struts and ball sockets - are great for Exo-Force mocs. Those Chromestone pictures, though, confirm that I won't really need to bother with this line. Each limb part is ball-jointed, so there's not much that can be done with them. I hope it does well, I can see what it's trying to do, but it's nowt to do with me. Are those pink spikes new, or are they the same as the existing ones in other Lego lines? They look squared.

Also, Lego army guys only have, like three shades of green they need to blend into. Real WWII army guys had many more

I don't really know what I'm talking about here so I'm open to correction, and I can't make out the tell-tale signs on any of the army men figs, but would the fact that they come disassembled inside the regular bags, while Woody and Buzz are in individual "Made In China" bags, have any bearing on quality?

And Martians. Handsome Martians. Like, maybe, a Martian infiltrator... an epic fail one. I dunno, but my first thought was putting one on a Mars Mission astronaut's shoulders for lols.